Party Plans
by cncgrad02
Summary: What comes after the long awaited engagement of our favorite couple? An engagement party, of course! Rated T for possible language.
1. Busted!

_**Chapter 1**_

A month and a half had passed. It had been a hectic six weeks for Zac and Vanessa at that. More so for Vanessa. After a private celebration the newly engaged couple called their parents on three-way so they could tell all four at once the news of their engagement. They did have to celebrate before calling anyone, after all. Their mothers had convinced them to let them plan an engagement party for when they returned home. It took all that Zac and Vanessa had within them to convince their mothers to wait for a few weeks upon their return home before beginning the party planning. They wanted to spend time having their own special celebration with their families before sharing the news with their friends and the rest of Hollywood. Starla and Gina heard their arguments and reluctantly agreed to wait for a month or so.

As soon as they returned to Los Angeles, the mothers had wasted no time at all and Vanessa had been thrown into plans for the party by both. It seemed that before 10:00 every morning she had received at least twelve calls from both Gina and Starla with decisions to be made for the party. It had gotten to the point where she would have to turn her phone off at night, only to have eight voice mails between the two moms when she turned it back on in the mornings.

As was the case this particular morning. It was two weeks before the party and- as had become her ritual for the past month- when the alarm sounded that morning, Vanessa reached over to turn it off and turned her phone on, waiting for the tell-tale tone signifying her voice mail. After counting the tones to find that she only had three voice mails already that morning, she let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, thank God," she said. When Zac turned over on his back to look at her over his shoulder with questioning eyes, she continued. "Only three this morning!" she told him with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

He just let out a snort before he responded. "Baby, you know they're just doing this-"

"-because they love us and want to do this for us. I know. But Zac, they're driving me _crazy_! Do you care what color napkins we have? Do you care in what font our names are embossed in said napkins? Do you care about-" She stopped as he pressed her lips together with his index finger and thumb.

"You're right. Point taken. No, I don't care."

"I love those women so very much, but I swear to you, if they're this bad when it comes time to plan the actual wedding…" she let her voice trail off as she made the first phone call of the morning to her mom. Starla would be next.

"What will you do to them?" he asked in amusement.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something very, very torturous. Maybe I'll withhold our first born from them. I don't know, we'll see." She turned her attention away from her fiancé as her mom answered the phone. "Hey, Mom. Good morning! Just returning your call. What's up?"

Zac gently touched her elbow to get her attention. When she turned to look at him, he whispered to her "_I'm going to start the coffee"_ and pointed toward the door of the bedroom. As she nodded her head, he leaned up offering her his lips for a quick kiss and got out of the bed, making his way down stairs and leaving Vanessa to continue the conversation with her mom.

As he was picking up her cup of coffee and turned around to take it back upstairs to Vanessa, he saw her making her way downstairs, holding the phone to her ear.

"Yeah… No, I know what you mean… Right… Right… Well, I'm not sure exactly. We've not talked about it yet. We were waiting until after the party to talk about that… No, I understand… I'll go talk to him about it now… Okay, Starla… Yeah, I'll call you back… Okay. I love you, too! Bye." As she hung up the phone, she threw it across the room gently- she didn't want to break it, after all- and let out a frustrated groan. "Okay, so Baby, when do you want to get married? We need to set a date so it can be embossed in the same napkins that we don't care what color they are!" She sat down at the table and put her head in both her hands. "They love us. They love us. They love us. They're doing this because they love us." This had become her morning mantra that she repeated every morning. It had become as vital a part of her morning as her first cup of coffee.

"We don't call them crazed fans, we call them moms." When she heard Zac voice the same line that he'd said in an interview a couple years ago, she lifted her head out of her hands and turned to look at him as he slid down in the chair next to her.

"You may call them moms, but I call them the Crazies!" He let out a small chuckle and held his arms out to her. She took the hint and stood to move into his lap, wrapping her hands around his neck and leaning in to press a small kiss to his neck.

"I hope that they just let us plan the actual wedding the way we want it. It is our wedding, after all, right? I mean, you did propose to me, not our entire families, right?"

His response was to merely lift her left hand to his lips and place a small kiss to the diamond that rested perfectly on her finger, since they had taken it to be sized as soon as they got home. "Go shower," he told her. "We told your parents we'll be there in a couple of hours. Mom, Dad, and Dylan will be leaving San Luis in about ten minutes." Vanessa just gave him a confused look as if questioning how he already knew that. "Mom called me this morning before she talked to you and had already asked me about the date. I told her that we hadn't talked about it yet. Apparently, she didn't like my response so she called you." She just rolled her eyes at their moms' impatience and he let out a laugh at the reaction he knew she'd have to his news.

"Seriously?" she asked. "You've got to be kidding me." She stood up at that point and moved to the stairs. She paused at the bottom step and look at Zac over her shoulder. "They are so lucky we love them!" He shook his head and laughed once more as he watched her make her way the rest of the way upstairs and to the shower.

About an hour and a half later, the couple pulled into the driveway of the Hudgens' house. Vanessa couldn't help but notice that only one of her parents' cars was there, causing her to voice her curiosity.

"Hm. Mom's car is missing. That's odd."

"Maybe she changed her mind and went out to pick up some Scott white, paper napkins instead of trying to fight over the color."

"Yeah, because we could be so lucky," she said as they got out of the car.

As they made their way up to the porch steps, Vanessa noticed something that caught her attention hidden in the bushes off to the left of the porch. As she leaned in to get a closer look, it became apparent that it was a bicycle. One that she didn't recognize. Her parents lived in a neighborhood that was fairly popular and housed a lot of families. It was also right next door to Stella's school, which meant that she not only walked to school, but a lot of her friends lived in the same neighborhood and spent a lot of time at the Hudgens. It took a while for Stella to believe that her friends came over to spend time with her and not try to catch a glimpse of her famous sister. She even went through a period of time after the second _High School Musical_- a time in her sister's career where things started to really take off for her- when she wouldn't have any of her friends over, even those that she had known since they were in preschool and therefore Vanessa knew them too when she was ten and they were three, well before anything started professionally for her. With all of Stella's friends constantly at the house, Vanessa quickly learned what each of their modes of transportation were and what they all looked like. This was one that she was not familiar with and it piqued her curiosity.

"I wonder whose bike that is?" she questioned out loud.

"What?" Zac asked.

"That bike. It's a new one to me. I know all of Stella's friends' bikes and I've never seen that one before."

"You read too much into things. Maybe one of her friends got a new one," he pointed out as Vanessa placed her key in the lock and proceeded to unlock the door. As she pushed the door open and began to walk into the living room where she heard the TV on, Zac turned his back to close and lock the door.

"Mom? Dad?" Vanessa called into the house. "Where are you guys?" As she walked into the doorway of the living room, the sight that greeted her was enough to stop her in her tracks. There, on the couch, sat- well, laid- her fourteen year old sister with another body on top of her. "Whoa," she said under her breath.

"Hey, Baby, did you find where your parents-". He immediately stopped when he felt Vanessa's lips on his own. Not knowing how to respond, he brought his arms up and placed them on her hips in an effort of drawing her closer and not caring why Vanessa suddenly felt the need to give him this type of attention- especially in her parents' home, a place where any display of her affection always made him slightly uncomfortable. As he took a step backwards so that they were leaning against the door and deepened the kiss, Vanessa pulled back and caught him off guard. "Wow. What was that for? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but-"

"Nothing. It just dawned on me that I hadn't given you a proper greeting this morning," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. She was looking him in the eyes, hoping that he couldn't pick up on the fact that she was hiding something. He squinted his eyes and studied her face.

"What are you hiding?" he asked accusingly.

"What? Nothing," she told him as she began to squirm in his arms. _Crap! I'm busted, _she thought to herself. _I need to somehow warn Stella._

"Babe, I can read you like a book. I know that you're hiding something. Your eyes are giving you away." Suddenly, it dawned on him that she didn't even make it into the living room before her attack on him. "Wait a minute. There's something in the other room that you don't want me to see." He started to pull away from her and walk towards the living room when she tugged on his arm.

"Have I told you that I love you?" she asked in her angelic voice when he turned back to face her.

"Van-" he started.

"I mean, 'cause I do. I love you so much…" she let her voice trail off as she stood on her tiptoes trying to reach his mouth once more, only to have him put his hand up to stop her.

"I love you, too, but what do you not want me see? If you don't tell me, I'm going in there and I'll find out for myself."

"Zac, it's not a big deal-"

"Then why are you not telling me?"

"Because I can-" She stopped when he started to walk away. "Zac? Zac, wait! Zac, don't! Baby! Stella!" Vanessa called out to her sister in warning before running after Zac herself. She didn't get but just a few feet before running into Zac's back, which had tensed up with the sight in front of him. She took a tentative peek around his back to take in the sight before them.

Stella was sitting up with the doe- eyed expression that she and Vanessa both had gotten from their mom. The boy that was on the couch with her was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, looking just as sheepish as Stella. 

"Zac!" she exclaimed while jumping up from the couch and running to her soon-to-be brother-in-law, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Uh-huh," he said, not returning the hug and giving the boy the stare down.

"Hey, Stellz," Vanessa started, only to be cut off by Zac.

"Who are you?" he asked the boy.

"You must be Craig," Vanessa said, referring to the boy that her sister told them about on her birthday- the one she had her first date with- and being the first of the group to remember their manners in the process.

"Um, no, actually I'm Jacob," the boy said, standing to shake Vanessa's hand.

"Jacob?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows while shooting a look at her younger sister who was still standing next to a glowering Zac. Stella knew Zac enough to know that he was trying hard to bite his tongue and not say anything that could possibly get him in trouble with her sister or- worse yet- their father. Stella felt a hand on her shoulder and sneaked a peak at Zac only to regret looking at him as soon as she did so when she saw the fire in his eyes and felt his grip on her shoulder tighten.

"It's nice to meet you, _Jacob_," Vanessa told him, placing emphasis on his name and hoping that Stella picked up on her meaning. "I'm Vanessa, Stella's older sister, and that's Zac, my fiancé."

"Nice to meet you, too, Vanessa. I've heard a lot about you two."

"Yeah, we wish we could say the same about you," Zac finally spoke up. He felt Stella begin to fidget under the weight of his hand on her shoulder. He immediately remembered the manners that his mom taught him many years ago, so he let go of Stella's shoulder and moved across the room to shake the younger man's hand, taking great pleasure in squeezing it harder than he normally would and watching the boy struggle to not let his discomfort be seen.

Vanessa shared a look with her sister before speaking up. "Hey, where are Mom and Dad?"

"I don't know. They told me this morning that they had to go out for a few hours and that they should be back about the same time that Zac's parents get here."

"Uh-huh, yeah, well, that should be in about fifteen minutes or so." Vanessa told her with a hidden message of _Get this boy out of here if you want to see him again._

"And?" Stella asked.

"And that means you should go before Greg catches you," Zac told Jacob, not bothering to hide his bluntness. "Don't let us keep you from anything."

"Zac!" Stella exclaimed.

"He's right, I should be going. I'll talk to you in a little bit," Jacob told Stella.

"Well, here, let me walk you to the door," Stella said, making a big deal out of taking Jacob's hand in hers and walking in the direction of the front door, but not before shooting a glare in Zac's direction. As the younger ones left the room, Zac looked at Vanessa and noticed the daggers she was silently shooting at him.

"What?" he asked. "What's that look for?"

"Seriously?" she questioned him.

"Seriously what?" No sooner was the question out of his mouth did he unexpectedly feel a hand hit him on the back of his head. "Ow!" Bringing his hand up to rub the back of his head, he slowly turned to see his fiancée's sister giving him the glare that had become so common for the day- and it was only 9:50 in the morning. "What was that for?"

"Seriously?" she asked, repeating the question she didn't know her sister had asked him a few seconds before. "Could you be any ruder to him?"

"Stella, he was all over you! Why do you have a boy in the house while you're all alone anyway?"

"What are you, my dad?"

"Stella-" Vanessa started, her voice considerably softer than Zac's.

"No, Nessa, I'm sorry that you have to hear this, but Zac, you're not my dad, nor are you my brother! Who gave you the right to be so protective of me and to tell me what to do? If Mom and Dad had come home and caught Jacob here, then I would have dealt with it. But you're not my brother yet, so quit trying to be! I've already got one older sibling who likes to tell me what to do, I don't need another!" Upon finishing her speech, Stella turned on her heel and raced from the room and up the stairs, leaving Zac and Vanessa staring after her.

"Seriously?" Zac asked. "Can you believe her? She's more of a drama queen than Ashley! What was that all about? I thought she liked that I looked out for her?"

"Zac, she does like when you look out for her. I think it makes her feel special. She feels like she's finally got an older brother. But she is only fourteen. You've never been a fourteen year old girl before; I have. Let me go talk to her." Seeing Zac nod in agreement, she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a small kiss before making her way to the stairs and started the climb, only to make it not even halfway up before the front door opened and the sound of both mothers' voices stopped her.

"Vanessa, sweetie, come here and have a seat. Let's get started. We've got a lot to discuss and some final decisions that need to be made today," her mother called out to her.

"Mom, I'll be down in a few minutes. Stella just needs me to-"

"Sweet Girl, we don't have time!" Starla spoke up. "Some of the decisions have time tables on them and we need to get busy."

Catching Zac's eye, she slowly came down the few steps that she had already ascended and rolled her eyes. Struggling to not let the laugh escape that he was holding in, he leaned down to give her a quick kiss before letting her pass through the living room into the kitchen. Watching her sit down at the kitchen table as their moms spread out the notebooks containing their notes, he turned his focus to the top of the stairs and the bedroom door that had been slammed closed just a few moments prior and was now drowning out the sound of the loud music. He allowed only one thought to run through his mind.

_I wonder how much of what Stella said she really meant. How fixable is this? I hate when any of the Hudgens are upset at me._


	2. Fall Out

_Once again, as always, I don't own anything. But after seeing Zac at the Oscar's, I'd love to own him, haha. _

_**Chapter 2**_

About thirty minutes later, Vanessa had already encountered three disagreements over decisions that their moms had made. Of course, each decision was more important than the one before and "if it isn't made within the next five minutes so we can call and make the reservation, then we'll miss out on this opportunity and you won't have it at the party". At one point during the conversation, she let her focus be drawn to the Dodger's game on the television that the four men were watching in the living room. No matter how hard her family tried, nothing could drown out the sound of the music blaring from her sister's room upstairs. All she wanted was a moment to go up and talk to her sister and find out what had caused her outburst from earlier. _Surely there was something behind it, _she thought to herself. While Gina and Starla were busy discussing the pros and cons of a buffet versus a sit down dinner, Vanessa let her head fall to the table on top of her left hand, wincing as she felt her forehead fall on top of the diamond that sat snuggly on her finger. She sat up, rubbing her head with her right hand.

"Ow," she moaned softly. Feeling a pair of hands softly rubbing her shoulders, she looked up over her shoulder to see her father standing there. "Hi, Daddy," she said.

"Just hang in there, Baby V. They'll be back to normal soon," he told her as he leaned down to place a kiss on top of her head. She opened her mouth to respond to Greg, only to be interrupted by her mom.

"Nessa, honey, what do you think? Chicken fingers on the buffet for the kids?"

Vanessa closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly in an effort to try and control her emotions before responding. Just as she was about to get frustrated and snap at the two mothers, she felt something stirring from deep within. She welcomed the feeling of the pressure on her bladder and took that as an opportunity for an escape, even if it meant she would only be able to stretch her legs for just a moment. In her opinion, any time to herself was welcome at this point, no matter how long it lasted.

"I'll be right back," she told Gina and Starla, who both just looked at her in disbelief.

"Where are you going?" Gina asked her oldest daughter.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. "Is that okay? Am I allowed to do that?"

"Of course, Sweetie. Just make it quick so we can look at the menu," Starla told her. She just stared at the two moms and heard a snort behind her. She turned and caught Zac's eyes, noticing the way that he was trying not to laugh. This was becoming more and more difficult for him, especially when he caught sight of Vanessa as she narrowed her eyes in warning at him. Throwing her hands up in the air, she rolled her eyes and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

While she was behind closed doors, Vanessa used that time to try and figure out how she was going to get away from her mom and future mother-in-law to go and talk to her sister. _I don't need this right now. Why does Stella have to choose today, with everything else that's going on, to act like she did?_

After taking care of her business and washing her hands, she opened the door to find her fiancé leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. When the two lovers looked each other in their eyes, Zac just held his arms open as an invitation, one that Vanessa was more than thrilled to accept. As she stepped into his arms, he brought them around her waist to pull her closer and hold her there as she wrapped hers around his waist. She felt him place a soft kiss to the top of her head and she let out a soft sigh.

"They love us?" she questioned, referring to the motives of their mothers.

"They love us," he answered. "I know it seems like they're being overbearing-"

"-but it's only for a short time. They'll be back to normal after the party, right?"

"Not only will they be back to their loving, will-do-anything-for-us, normal selves that we both know and love from both of our moms, but watching you go through this whole party planning bit has convinced me that we will be hiring a wedding planner. They will have nothing to do with the wedding planning process. Unless you ask their opinion on something."

"Unless _I_ ask their opinion? Don't you mean _we_?"

"Baby, do you really want my help? Why not just tell me where to be and when?"

"We'll discuss that later," she told him.

"Yes, dear."

"Practicing getting out of trouble already?" she asked him with a giggle.

"Of course," he responded without hesitation, not trying to hide the smirk on his face. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Vanessa placed her hand on the back of his neck to hold him there for a moment. The moment was broken by the sound of Starla's voice calling out for her.

"Vanessa? Sweetie, are you done? We need you back in here."

Reluctantly, Vanessa broke the kiss with a sigh and leaned her forehead against Zac's. "They love us?"

"They love us," he reminded her.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm going back in the line of fire. Hey, have you talked to Stella yet?"

"I tried. I think either the music drowned out my knocking, or she was just flat out ignoring me. I'm not sure."

"What is she playing?"

"I don't know, I couldn't tell. Why?"

"Well, because the type of music she's listening to will give us a clue as to what her mood is. Don't guys do that, too?"

"Well, sort of, I guess. I don't know."

"I'll talk to her when I get a chance. Man, I can't believe her! Neither one of us have ever been that bold!"

"Really? Never?"

"No!" she told him. He just raised his eyebrows at her in response, questioning the validity of her statement, and she continued. "Babe, who's our dad?"

"Point taken."

"Thought so. Okay, I'm going back out there to face the firing squad. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," he told her with mock seriousness. "If you don't make it out alive, I just want you to know how much I love you," he told her as he gave her another kiss.

She smacked him on the chest and rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dork. I love you, too," she responded as she returned the kiss before walking away, leaving him standing in the hallway as she walked back to the kitchen table to join Gina and Starla in continuing the party plans. As Zac came around the corner emerging from the hallway, he sneaked a glance up the stairs once again. Deciding to try once again, he began to climb the stairs leading to the young teenager's room. As he got closer, the music stopped. He took the moment of silence as the perfect opportunity to knock.

"Go away!" came the muffled response of the troubled teenager.

"Stellz, it's me. Can I come in?" he asked hesitantly through the thick wood separating him from his fiancée's sister. He let out a relieved breath when she flung the door open.

"You are one half of the reason I'm up here! No, you can't come in!" Moving to slam the door in his face, she got frustrated when it wouldn't close all the way. Looking down at his foot and seeing that he had moved it to block the doorway, she brought her hands up to push on his chest. She took him off guard with the unexpected move and he lost his balance when she gave a shove, causing him to stumble backwards and bump into the wall across from her room. Seeing that she won for now, Stella slammed her bedroom door closed once again. Zac took a step forward and tried the door knob, taking note that she had locked it this time. He balled his hand into a frustrated fist and brought it up to rest near the top of her door as he heard the music start again. He squinted his eyes as he tried to make out the most recent song that she had blaring from her stereo.

'_Headstrong'? I never would have placed Ashley's music in the "mad at the world" category. I guess it fits, though. She'd be so pleased…_

He let out a sigh as he made his way back downstairs to join the other three guys in the living room, watching the Dodgers as they took on the Atlanta Braves. He allowed himself to get lost in the top of the third inning and Chipper Jones was at bat for the Braves. With a full count, the three Efron men and Vanessa's father all leaned forward to watch the outcome. Would he strike out, take a walk, or hit a home run that he had become famous for? The Dodgers pitcher gave the wind up and all four men sitting in the Hudgens living room sat up, holding a collective breath as the ball was released from his hand and flew through the air. Just as they should have heard either the crack of a bat as it collided with the ball or the umpire shout the much desired _"You're Out!"_, a very different and unexpected sound filled the air.

"I don't care!" Vanessa exclaimed, as she stood up with such force the chair she was sitting in fell back and hit the floor. All four men turned their heads in the direction of the frustrated cry and took in the sight in the other room. Gina and Starla were sitting with shocked expressions on their faces, staring up at Vanessa who was standing, still in the spot where she had been sitting, with her hands on her hips.

"Looks like she finally cracked," Dylan whispered, breaking the silence in the living room. When he caught the glare that Zac and his father both sent his way, he quickly retracted his statement. "Sorry."

"Sweetie, why don't you calm-" Gina began.

"No, Mom, I will not calm down! I've been holding this in for a while and it has to be said. I don't care what color our napkins are! I don't care what food is on the buffet, or if we even have a buffet! I don't care if we have a dj or a live band! All that we wanted was a small party, but apparently we can't even have that!" She turned around and stalked out of the dining room, through the living room and passed all four men staring at her, and out the back door of her parents' house. Zac was the first to come out of his daze and looked at both their mom's, selfishly taking pride in his fiancée and her ability to make them look ashamed.

"Ladies, let me be the one to say thank you."

"Zachary, what are you talking about?" his own mother asked.

"Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to act as damage control. I greatly appreciate it. That's exactly what I wanted to do with my day when I woke up this morning. So again, I say thank you."

Giving a bow in mock seriousness to the women before him, the five people surrounding him couldn't mistake the sarcasm in his voice or eyes, as he turned the steely blues to look at everyone. Rolling his eyes, he turned and followed in Vanessa's footsteps, and everyone in the house- all but one, as she was still upstairs moping in her bedroom- watched as he walked out the back door, in search of Vanessa.


	3. Peace Offering

_Thank you to adcgordon for being my sounding board! You're awesome and I love you! Again, I don't own anything. Enjoy!_

_**Chapter 3**_

Stepping through the back door, it didn't take long for Zac to spot Vanessa. She was sitting in one of the lawn chairs that sat around the patio table big enough to fit six. He was familiar with the table and the fact that it was the location of many of the Hudgens family's discussions. He stood at the door watching her for a moment, trying to gauge the blank expression on her face. How much of what happened in the dining room was anger? Or was it more hurt? Not quite sure how to start Operation: Cheer Up Vanessa, he slowly came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and started to gently massage. She allowed herself to relax into his loving gesture and released a deep breath.

"Hey, Babe," she started, breaking the silence first.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked curiously.

"I know your hands," she said, leaning her head over to the side to place a gentle kiss on his knuckles.

"Kinky," he replied, with a smirk.

"Zac-" she started.

"I'm sorry, Baby," he said with a small chuckle, as he leaned down to place a loving kiss on the top of her head. Removing his hands from her shoulders, he helped her to stand up and took her place in her empty chair and pulled her down into his lap and waited until she leaned her head against his chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat, before continuing. "What happened in there?"

She released a sigh as she mentally began to relive the past several minutes. "I honestly don't even know. I was sitting there listening to our moms go on and on and on about- well, about everything! They couldn't even concentrate on one aspect of this party for two minutes before demanding a decision from me and moving on to the next one! Anything I had to say, it was like I was talking to the china cabinet across the room. They can do this without me. In fact, they _have _been doing this without me! I was beginning to think that they were just asking me my opinion on stuff just to say that they had asked."

"Yeah, I could tell. You know, I honestly think that they didn't realize how much pressure they were putting on you. They love us and just wanted to give us a relaxing party, a time to celebrate our engagement with our friends."

"But that's just it, Zac. With the direction they were taking everything, it wasn't going to be relaxing. I tried to tell them what we had talked about, and all I got was a 'That's nice, Sweetie. What do you think about this?'. I probably should have tried to talk to them about it again, but… I don't know, I just snapped, I guess."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did."

"Yeah, well, I guess I should go talk to them, but I'm not doing it without a plan."

"What sort of plan?" he questioned.

"We need to discuss what _we_ want before we go back in there."

"Wait, you're pulling me into this?" he asked skeptically. She didn't hesitate to give him the pout that she knew would cause him to crumble. "Ah, geez, Van! Not the pout, please?" he declared, closing his eyes to try and avoid her brown puppy dog eyes. Feeling that she relented and he was in the clear of the puppy dogs, he slowly opened his eyes, only to see that the pout was still present. He closed his eyes once more and leaned his head back so it rested on the back of the chair. He began shaking his head back and forth, muttering "No, no, no, no, no, no" over and over until he felt his fiancée catch his chin in her hand and hold his head still, so she could look the love of her life in the eyes.

"Zac," she started, "this is your party, too."

As he opened his eyes again, the two lovers had a private stare down. Zac narrowed his eyes; Vanessa raised her eyebrows. They each knew what the other was saying in their silent conversation. It was a language that only they knew and had practiced so much that it was pure perfection. Finally, Zac gave in first.

"Fine," he said with a frustrated sigh. "You win, of course. Let's discuss this."

"Thank you. I can't confront them without you beside me," she said as she stroked the side of his face lovingly.

"Dylan's right."

"About what?"

"I _am_ whipped, aren't I?" he asked, wincing as she pinched him with a scowl on her face. "Ow!" Zac let out a chuckle as he rubbed his upper arm watching as Vanessa crossed her arms across her chest.

"Zac, I'm serious! I need your help! We need to talk about this."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He leaned forward to place a gentle kiss to her temple. "You know that whatever you want at this party, I'll be absolutely happy with it. I'll be happy even if it's just the two of us celebrating."

She turned to face him, giving him a small smile, not able to deny the love that swelled in her heart every time she looked at him. "I love you," she told him quietly.

"I love you, too. Now, let's talk about this party. Small?" She nodded. "Buffet?" Another nod. Not able to resist the one question that he knew would probably get him another pinch or even smacked across the chest, he took both of her wrists in his hands as he felt the corners of his lips twitch and he said the words: "What color napkins?"

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, trying to wriggle free from his grasp so she could reprimand him properly. Seeing that he wasn't willing to let go, she finally settled her squirming, causing him to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I couldn't resist," he began to explain. "Dj or band?"

"I don't care, honestly. Actually, maybe a dj, now that I think about it. That way we'll have a variety of music that we can dance to all night long."

"See, now we're getting somewhere," he told her as he ran his fingers through her long curls.

Feeling the calming effect, she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. Placing his hands on the back of her head to hold her there for a moment, he deepened the kiss. Just as the couple was about to let themselves get lost in the emotions they were all too familiar with, Vanessa pulled away.

"Hey, what about Stella?"

"Yeah, see, when we're on the verge of a make out, I really don't want to be thinking about either one of our siblings."

"Did you talk to her?" she asked, ignoring his smart-ass comment. Noting his deep sigh and the hurt in his eyes, she could only guess what his answer was going to be before he said anything.

"I tried to," he said solemnly.

"What happened?" she softly asked him, as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I went up there to talk to her, only to have her yell at me that I'm one half the reason she's upset, and shove me out of her room, slamming the door in my face."

"What?!"

"Yeah. If the music blaring from her stereo doesn't tell you that she's upset, then I'm sure her kicking me out will."

"Baby, I'm sorry."

"There's nothing you can do about it. It's just something she has to work through, I guess. I mean, I don't know how teenage girls work. If it were Dylan, I'd just go tell him he better talk to you and straighten out whatever it is before I kick his ass."

"Why would you kick his ass?"

"Because we're guys. That's what we do." Vanessa just looked at him and shook her head in amusement.

"Well, that's not what girls do. We talk it out. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to go and talk to our moms, and then we're going to go talk to Stella together. She can yell at us separately, but together we can overpower her. We're a lot stronger then she is."

"So, what do you suggest? I grab her while you tie her up and we shine a light in her face and sweat the truth out of her? Yeah, I think that might work!" Vanessa just rolled her eyes at her fiancé's joking comments about her younger sister.

"Why don't we just play it by ear and let the conversation take its own course? We'll handle it as it goes. Without knowing what exactly it is that's bugging her, we can't know how to talk to her."

"I think I like my plan better," he said sulkily.

"Why? Are you scared of a fourteen year old girl?"

"No, I'm scared of a fourteen year old Hudgens."

She leaned forward so her lips were mere centimeters from the shell of his ear as she whispered seductively.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I'll make it up to you later." She watched as his eyes went from their normal brilliant, sky blue to the sexy gray that she loved so much to see. Smiling at the effect that she knew she always had on him, she took note of the way his eyebrow quirked as he verbalized his thought.

"I'll hold you to that," he said as he brought their lips together once more. After a few minutes of their embrace, they finally pulled apart and sat in silence for several more minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Finally, Zac made the decision that it was time to go back inside and not put off the inevitable any longer.

"Okay, Babe, I think we've put this off long enough." He gave her leg a small pat letting her know to stand up, which she did, holding her hand out to help him stand as well. As they opened the single French door, everyone in the room turned to watch the couple.

"Um, Mom, Starla, can Zac and I talk to you two in the other room?" she tentatively asked. The young couple watched as the two older women stood from their position on the couch and walked into the dining room where all of their notes were still spread out. Gina and Starla sat down, watching as their older children copied their actions. Not exactly sure what to expect from the request of Zac and Vanessa, the two mothers sat patiently, waiting on them to start the conversation.

Vanessa sat there, playing with her engagement ring- which has become a nervous habit of hers lately- working to gather her courage. After a long moment of silence, Starla spoke first.

"Well? You two wanted to talk to us?" Zac reached to take Vanessa's hand in his showing his support.

"Um, yeah. Zac and I just wanted to talk to you about the party."

"Go on," Gina said.

"First of all, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to go off the way I did. I was trying so hard to enjoy myself and let you two have your fun, but I wasn't. It wasn't fun for me. I felt like every time I voiced my opinion on something, you weren't listening to me and I just snapped. I'm sorry."

The two older women shared a look before turning their attention back to their children. "Sweetie, we love you. When you stormed out like that and Zac went to talk to you, we realized that we were getting to be a little overbearing," Gina told the couple.

"A little?" Vanessa asked, with a pointed look on her face.

"Okay, a lot," Gina continued. "We're sorry that we were taking the fun out of it for you. We want you two to enjoy yourselves at the party, and we were just-"

"- doing it all for us. I realize that now. I'm sorry I overreacted, and I hope you can forgive me."

"Honey, of course! We love you and we want you two to be happy," Starla told them. "But can you forgive us for being so-"

"Party Nazi?" Zac supplied for his mom. The mother and son duo allowed their blue eyes to meet, and Starla gave a slight shake of her head.

"Zachary…" she warned.

"Sorry, Mom, but you were."

"Okay," Vanessa interrupted, "now that that's all out in the open and done, Zac and I did set a few stipulations about the party. We'll tell you what we came up with, and then the rest will be up to you two. Sound fair?" After the mothers nodded their heads, Gina picked up her pen to make notes of what her daughter was about to tell them.

"Okay, first of all, buffet. We want a buffet. That will give people choices of what to eat instead of feeling like we're telling them what to eat. The mood will be casual. We want to wear jeans and be comfortable, so everyone else should be able to, too. We also want a dj, so there's a variety of music. Are we all on the same page so far?"

The mothers responded in the affirmative, so Zac continued. "It will be small. Van and I will get the guest list together today before we leave so you two can have it and get the invitations out."

"Okay," Starla spoke up. "All of this sounds fair. We will go by what you've told us just now and will take care of the rest."

"Remember, casual. Don't go overboard, please? No ice sculptures, no black tie tuxedo whatever or anything. Please? Even if it's just a cookout in the backyard or whatever," Vanessa begged their moms.

"We won't," Starla promised the two young adults sitting before her. "One more question for you, though. Photographer- yes or no?" The other three people in the room knew the underlying meaning in Starla's question. _Do you want the paparazzi there? _Zac and Vanessa shared a look in silent communication before Zac answered his mom's question.

"We'll have to talk about that one. We'll let you know."

"Okay," Gina said. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, Gina, I think that's it," Zac said, looking at Vanessa for confirmation. When he saw her nod, he continued. "Just tell us where to be and when. Now, if you two will excuse us, there's a teenager upstairs that needs our attention."

"What's wrong with Stella?" Gina asked, her eyes widening in shock. "I hate this. I've been so engrossed in this party today, that I didn't even notice that she wasn't down here. Is everything okay?"

Zac opened his mouth to tell Gina about the boy, but Vanessa held her hand up stopping him and spoke up first. "She will be, Mom. She's just having a teen moment. We don't know what's going on, but I think Zac and I need to talk to her, so…"

"It's okay, Sweet Girl. You two go ahead and talk to her. Cheer her up. We'll deal with all of this and we'll let you know what we come up with," Starla assured her future daughter-in-law.

"Well, don't tell us everything you decide. We want some surprises at the party," Vanessa told them.

"Sounds fair," Gina said. "Now go. Be big sister. We'll talk about the guest list before you two leave."

Zac and Vanessa stood from their seats and walked around the table to where their mothers were sitting, gave both women hugs and kisses on their cheeks, and left the dining room. The young couple made it to the bottom of the stairs before they heard the loud music filtering down and reaching their ears. Pausing on the bottom step, they shared a concerned look with each other before making their way up to the second floor. Reaching Stella's bedroom, Vanessa took a deep breath and reached up to knock on her sister's door.


	4. Sister Moments

_Okay, yall, first of all I just want to say that I don't own any of this except for the storyline. Also, I've enjoyed all the reviews and story alert adds and so forth. Thank you so much for the support. As always, it's overwhelming! Now, with all of that out of the way, I've got to make a confession. I didn't plan this story as well as I did my previous ones. I had a small part of this story in mind, the rest of it has just been a filler. I've got one chapter after this one complete and ready to post, but after that... your guess of where it's going is as good as mine! I have to be honest and tell you that there will be more after chapter 5, I just don't know how much or when. I'm trying, though! If anyone (other than adcgordon- thank you so much, Anna, but you need a break! I've called on you way too much for this story!) wants to help get me out of my funk, please pm me! I'll gladly accept your thoughts and take them into consideration! With that being said..._

_**Chapter 4**_

Reaching Stella's bedroom, Vanessa took a deep breath and reached up to knock on her sister's door. After three short, hard knocks, Vanessa brought her hand back down to her side and waited. The response she received was not one that she had expected, but it didn't surprise her none the less. Upon hearing the music blare louder, Vanessa and Zac shared a look. Deciding against knocking again, Vanessa opened the door to her sister's room, which used to be hers- Stella moved in when Vanessa moved out- and the couple walked in. Taking one look at Stella laying on the bed on her back, staring up at the ceiling, Vanessa realized that this was not an ordinary "You busted me in something wrong and I'm upset at you" moment, but was still uncertain as to what the underlying problem was. It was at that moment when the song that Stella had been using to cause everyone that came within a ten foot radius of her room to go deaf immediately hit their ears with clarity. Vanessa let out a small snort at the irony as she crossed the room and turned down the volume on her sister's stereo.

"_Never Underestimate a Girl_? Seriously, Stellz? Do you play my music when you're upset often? Am I the new teenage girl angst, mad at the world, advocate?" After seeing Stella was still refusing to speak to her, Vanessa let out a sigh, and shared a questioning look with Zac, who was standing by the desk in the corner of the room. After seeing him shrug his shoulders, she sat down on the foot of the bed and continued.

"I realize that you're mad at me and Zac for something that you did and I get locking yourself in your room and moping, blaring your music to let everyone in the house know to leave you alone- hello, been there, done that- but your music choice? You blare _my _music? _My _cd? I'm sorry, but that's going to take some getting used to."

"See, whenever I don't say 'Come in' when someone knocks on my door, that usually means '_Don't_ come in'," Stella snapped at her sister and her sister's fiancé. "I thought that turning the music up louder would be a clue to you. Apparently not."

"Stella, what the hell is your problem?" Vanessa finally demanded, losing what little patience she had left with her sibling.

"Why do you care? I'm surprised you noticed that anything is wrong at all. You've been too self absorbed in your stupid party and your stupid engagement to even notice anything about anyone but yourselves."

Vanessa squinted her eyes in confusion and watched as her sister stood up from her spot on the bed and walked over to her window seat, picking up the stuffed frog that Vanessa had given her years ago, and sat down, crossing her legs under her, facing outside with the old worn frog in her lap. It didn't go un-noticed by the couple when Stella brought a hand up to wipe a stray tear from her face. With that one action, it slowly occurred to Vanessa what could possibly be bothering Stella. Slowly, she crossed the room to stand in front of Zac and looked him in the eyes, taking his hand in hers.

"Babe, would you excuse us for a few minutes? I think this might turn into a sister moment," she said softly.

"Yeah, that's fine," he told her. "I'll just go back downstairs and watch the rest of the game with the guys." Watching as Vanessa nodded, he gave her hand a squeeze of encouragement and turned to leave the room. Sighing, Vanessa turned to look at Stella once again. Shutting the bedroom door behind her, she made her way to the window seat and sat down in it across from her younger sister, taking one of Stella's other frogs in her own lap and stroking the head.

The Hudgens sisters sat in silence for a few minutes, both looking out over the backyard of their family home, lost in their own thoughts. Both girls were thinking of all the late nights they had spent sitting in that exact window seat, talking to the Man in the Moon about all their dreams. In Vanessa's mind, it was all in the past and hoped that the cousins that would come within the next several years would make the same type of memories in the future. In Stella's mind, however, it was all coming to an end. These were feelings she had been dealing with a lot lately. She hadn't been able to vocalize her thoughts and fears about the future to anyone, especially the older sister that she had never hid anything from. Taking a deep breath, Stella quickly made a decision. _There's no time like the present, _she thought to herself.

"I feel like I'm losing you," Stella finally spoke up softly, with a small sniffle.

Vanessa turned her attention to her sister, not quite sure if she heard her correctly or not. "What are you talking about? You're not losing me."

"But I am!" Stella cried. "I lost you once when _HSM_ started, but I dealt with that when you had all the promotional touring and you made sure I was included. I loved that. I had fun with all the traveling and everything. Now, I don't know, I just…" Her voice cracked as she stood from her spot in the window seat and moved to her original position on the bed with Vanessa watching as her younger sister turned her back to her.

"You what, Stell?" she asked softly, as she slowly stood and made her way over to the bed. Sitting down by Stella's feet, she continued. "Honey, talk to me, please. I want to help you, but I can't if I don't understand what's going on." Tentatively, she reached her hand out to touch Stella on the back. When Stella didn't recoil at her sister's touch, Vanessa started to rub her back. "Stella?" she asked again. This time, when Stella turned back around to face her sister, she had tears streaming down her face, causing Vanessa's own eyes to begin to water.

"Don't get me wrong, Ness. I love Zac."

"I know you do. You look up to him like you would a brother. I love the relationship you two have. And I'm sorry, but I'm still confused. What does Zac have to do with this?"

"He's the reason that I'm losing you. He's taking you away from us!" Stella watched as Vanessa's face changed from confusion to understanding as the meaning of her sister's confession dawned on her.

"Stella, you mean that just because we're getting married… Honey, that couldn't be further from the truth. You know that, right? Things won't be any different than they are now. Except that you'll officially be able to call him your 'brother-in-law'."

"It doesn't feel like it, though. Ever since you two got engaged, it's been all about you. It feels like no one has noticed me. Did you know that my last day of school was a week and a half ago? My report card came five days ago. All A's and B's, honor roll. I'm now officially in high school. Bet you didn't know that, did you?" When Vanessa didn't respond, Stella took that to mean that she was right. "Mom and Dad didn't tell you, did they? Of course not. Mom's been too engrossed in planning your party and Dad's been trying to keep her sane. Obviously that didn't work, but…"

"Is that why you acted out today? To get attention?"

Stella gave a small nod, confirming her sister's suspicion. "Today's not the first thing I've done."

"Well, I got a detention a few days ago. Mom and Dad don't know. There was some form sent home that they had to sign, but the school usually calls, too, so I thought that when they got the call, they'd find out that I got detention, lied to them because I said that I stayed to work on a paper- of course, that's not true since school was out in a few days-, and 'lost' the form. But that never happened, so they still don't know."

"Is there anything else?" Vanessa asked. When Stella nodded her head, she continued.

"What else?" Vanessa watched as Stella got up off the bed and walked to her closet. Reaching far in the back, behind all of her clothes, she pulled out a bottle of liquid. Handing it to Vanessa, she let her eyes fall to the floor, ashamed of what she would say. "Stella!" Vanessa gasped after studying the bottle. "This is Zac's rum! He was looking for it the other night. We didn't know where it was."

"I never did anything with it. If you look at it again, you'll see that it still hasn't been opened; the seal is still intact. I just took it to see if you guys would notice."

"How long have you had it?"

"Since the movie night we had with Mom and Dad about three weeks ago. But you didn't notice! See? That just proves my point! You two didn't even notice that it was gone until the other night."

Letting this new confession sink in, Vanessa let out a sigh. "Stella, come here."

Stella made her way back to the bed and sat down facing her older sister. Once she was settled again, Vanessa continued.

"Sweetie, nothing will ever take me away from you. You and I have a bond that Zac and I will never have, just like he and Dylan. You and I are sisters first and always. I know you feel like you've been neglected lately, and it's not just from me. That's something we're going to have to talk about with everyone. I can tell you that I'm sorry for my part in all of that. But I can promise you that you always have a place in my life. No matter what happens with me and Zac- babies, fights, amazing movie deals with awards to follow- you're always in my life. I'll always have time for you."

"But what if, okay, see, it's a big night for you. You guys have like, I don't know, the Golden Globes or something, and one of you is nominated and ends up winning. You're in the car on your way home, talking about celebration plans, if you get what I mean, and your phone rings. It's me, crying about something that happened and I need to talk to my sister. What do you do?"

"Well, obviously, you're more than welcome at my house. You know that, you even have your own room there. But on a night like that, you can come over and I'll be there for you, chocolate chip cookie dough, mint chocolate chip ice cream, all of it. However, as long as you realize that after you and I have gorged ourselves till we're sick, I will have a husband to get back to and you may hear stuff-"

"That won't be anything new to me!" Stella interrupted. When Vanessa's eyes grew to be the size of their mom's dinner plates, Stella quickly went on. "Oh, come on! You know it's true. You two aren't exactly discreet all the time."

"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked.

"What I mean is that you two are either being… um, not quiet… or you're careless and don't close the bedroom door all the way or you-"

"Anyway-" Vanessa started again, the tone in her voice letting her sister know that she wanted the conversation back on track, "-my point is that you are always welcome at my house. You have a room, there's a couch if needed."

"Why would I need a couch?"

"Not for you, Stellz. For Zac. Sister Date Night will still happen and we'll still have our Gilmore marathons and he'll just have to deal. That will probably be the only rule in our marriage. We have Sister Date Night, he will have Brother Date Night. Wait, no, that's just weird. He'll have something. I don't know. Whatever. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Things may change, but yet they won't. Does that make sense?"

"I think so. I'm sorry I over reacted."

"You didn't over react. I think that's a normal reaction. Nothing will ever come between us." Suddenly Vanessa's eyes got a glimmer, one that Stella knew way too well.

"Uh oh. Please, Ness, no. Not a song."

_"If you're out on the road-"_

"Ness, please, stop!"

_"-feeling lonely and so cold."_

"What's going on?" Zac, who had made his way back upstairs to check on his girls, asked from the doorway.

"I think it's supposed to be a sister moment," Stella told him.

"Then why is she singing the theme from _Gilmore Girls_?"

_"All you have to do is call my name and I'll be there on the next train.__" _Vanessa stood from the bed and moved to stand behind her sister, putting her arms around her shoulder.

"I don't know," Stella told him shaking her head.

_"Where you lead, I will follow. Anywhere that you tell me to."_ Vanessa looked at Stella, who was looking at her as if she was crazy. "Too much?" she asked. Stella slowly nodded her head.

"Have you come back from the land of the loonies?" Stella asked.

"That depends," Vanessa told her.

"On?"

"On whether or not we're okay. I love you, Stella. You're so important to me and I don't want anything to ever come between us."

"We're fine, Ness. I love you," she said as she threw herself into the open arms of her older sister.

"Good," Vanessa said as she returned the tight squeeze that she was receiving from Stella. "But there's something I have to finish first."

"Do I want to know what that is?" Stella asked. As if on cue, Vanessa continued her song.

"_If you need, you need me to be with you I will follow where you lead. _Okay, now I'm done. But you know what you have to do now, right?" she asked Stella with raised eyebrows.

"What's that?"

"Well, in addition to talking to Mom and Dad, you also need to…" She let her voice trail off as she pulled out of the hug that she was sharing with her sister and turned her around to face Zac who was still in the doorway, watching the scene before him. Stella nodded and took a deep breath before speaking to him finally.

"Zac, can we talk?"


	5. Coming Clean

_Good news, everyone! Once I mentioned that I was stuck and didn't know how long it would take me to get out of my funck, something just sort of snapped within me and I was able to take off again. I've since finished the story. The bad news, there's only one chapter after this one. But don't worry... I've got others up my sleeve. It's just a matter of deciding which I'm going to do next and getting a good start on it. That being said, I hope you enjoy the rest of this one. Oh, yeah... I still don't own any of it!_

_**Chapter 5**_

"Zac, can we talk?" Stella tentatively asked her soon to be brother-in-law.

Zac eyed Stella suspiciously, wondering what her hidden agenda was. He sneaked a look at Vanessa who was still standing behind her sister. When she gave him a slight nod letting him know that all was okay, he moved to the desk and pulled the chair out, sitting down in it backwards, draping his arms over the back. Stella went to sit across from him on the foot of the bed and lowered her eyes to study the comforter instead of looking directly at him. Vanessa moved to stand behind Zac, resting her hand on his back and slowly began running it up and down in encouragement. Noticing how strangely odd it felt and not understanding why, she then went to sit on the bed behind her sister. Not quite comfortable there, either, she made her way back over to the window seat and took residence there. The three sat in an uncomfortable silence until Zac finally spoke up first.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Um, yeah, I did. I mean, I do. I wanted to apologize about earlier and try to explain about why I did what I did," she said, as she began absentmindedly fingering the pattern on her comforter.

"Okay," Zac told her. "I'm listening."

"Well, I've been kind of jealous or something lately."

"Kind of?" he interrupted.

"Zac…" Vanessa warned.

"Sorry. Go on, Stellz."

"Well, like I said I've been kind of jealous. I love you so much. You're practically already my big brother and now- well, soon- you really will be. Please don't think that has anything to do with all this. Well, I mean, I guess it does, but-"

"Stella? Stella, calm down, it's just me. You don't have to be nervous talking to me. You know that."

"I know, but-"

"Why don't you just take a deep breath and try it again?" Zac encouraged her. Stella followed his advice and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before trying again.

"Okay. Zac, I love that you've been a part of my life. And I love that you're about to become an even bigger part of my life. I just started freaking out thinking about the future. I've heard stories from friends who have siblings that got married and they just keep talking about how everything has changed. They keep telling stories about stuff that they used to do with their older siblings and how they all of a sudden don't have time for any of the fun stuff that they used to do anymore because they're always with their new husband or wife. I guess I just got scared that that would happen." While listening to her sister open up to Zac, Vanessa felt her eyes begin to water once again.

"Stella, look at me," Zac gently encouraged the youngest Hudgens. When she slowly lifted her brown eyes to meet his blue, he saw true fear in them. "Stella, I won't lie. I've never really wanted a sister. Dylan's been enough to handle. And then one day, I met Van and she introduced me to the most adorable, sweetest, most non-irritating younger sibling that I have ever met. You are probably the coolest little sister ever, and I'm so incredibly happy to almost be able to call you my sister-in-law. I love you as if you were my own sister and I want you to know that I never want to come between you and Van. If you ever need sister time, just say the word and I'll make sure it happens." He paused when he heard Stella sniffle. "However-" he started again.

"Oh, boy, here it comes. I knew the feel good moment wouldn't last," Stella said, rolling her eyes.

"However," he continued, ignoring her remark "your attitude today sucked. I hate to say it, but yeah, it did. Stella, what were you thinking today?"

"I guess I was trying to get caught," she admitted sheepishly.

"Why?" he questioned.

"Because I thought maybe then Mom and Dad would notice me."

"Why would Greg and Gina not notice you? It's just the three of you living here and it has been for well over two years now."

"But then add in all the notebooks of party and wedding stuff that Mom totes around everywhere and Dad trying to keep her sane and I'm automatically taken out of the equation. They've been concentrating so hard on you two lately, that I've basically just blended to the wood work. I figured that the only way to get their attention was to get caught doing stuff."

"So you brought a boy in the house when they weren't home?" When he saw her lower her eyes to study the comforter once again, he instantly felt like she was still hiding something. "Stellz?" he continued. "What aren't you telling me?"

Stella lifted her eyes and looked at Vanessa, who raised her eyebrows in warning. "Stella, if you don't tell him, I will."

Sighing, Stella spoke up again. "Zac, I um, I took something that belongs to you from Nessa's house."

"What are you talking about?" he questioned.

Stella stood from the bed and walked to her dresser. Picking up the bottle of rum that Vanessa had set there earlier, she slowly turned back around to face Zac once again. When she lifted the bottle slowly, he stood from his place at the desk and walked over to her, taking the bottle from her hands as she lowered her head in shame.

"When did you take this?" he asked, after studying the label.

"About three weeks ago. When we had that movie night at Nessa's. I went to the kitchen to get something to drink and saw it."

"Why did you take it?"

"I think you just answered that yourself. I did it to get noticed. You didn't even know it was gone, did you?" Sighing, Zac set the bottle down for the moment.

"Stella, I'm sorry you've felt neglected lately. If you ever feel like that again, let us know. Van and I love you and we promise to never intentionally let things get to that point again. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I understand. I love you, Zac. I'm sorry I was being all moody and stuff today." She threw her arms around his waist with such force that he stumbled back a bit. After regaining his balance, he wrapped his own arms around her tiny body, squeezing her tight.

"I love you, too. Oh, and uh, you're allowed to be moody, but it can only happen one time a month."

"Ew!" Stella shrieked as she reached up and smacked him on the chest. "Zac, that's gross!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes and Zac laughed as he rubbed his chest. She stood up as her fiancé pulled her sister in for another tight hug and held her close, rubbing his arms up and down her back. She crossed the room to stand next to them and spoke up.

"Um, guys, I hate to break the moment, but Stella, don't you think you should talk to Mom and Dad?"

Pulling out of the hug, Stella looked at Vanessa with her lower lip between her teeth. "I know I should, but I'm kind of scared to."

"How about we go with you?" Vanessa suggested. "Will that make you feel better?"

When Stella nodded, Zac interrupted. "Just one second, Stellz. We'll go and sit with you while you talk to Greg and Gina, but you need to understand that _you_ need to be the one doing the talking. If you don't tell them about that boy today-"

"Jacob," she interrupted.

"Fine, _Jacob,_" he corrected himself with a roll of his eyes. "If you don't tell them about today with Jacob, then we will. If you don't tell them about the bottle of my rum that you took, then we will. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," she told them. "That sounds fair, I guess."

"Okay, then let's go," Vanessa said.

As the trio made their way downstairs, they weren't surprised to find that the other five people in the house were still in exactly the same spot as fifteen minutes earlier. Dylan, David, and Greg were still on the edge of their seats watching the final three innings of the game while Starla and Gina were still in the dining room, surrounded by their notebooks and calendars. Vanessa noticed that there was a new sheet of paper sitting in front of them and got enough of a glance to see that it was a "To Do" list. She also noticed something written on top of the list that was circled. Taking a closer look, she could tell that it was a date. She was brought out of her daze when she heard Stella's voice.

"Um, Mom? Dad? Can I borrow you guys for a few minutes?"

"Stella, we have company," Gina told her, waving her hand in her youngest daughter's direction dismissively. "It can wait for a bit."

"Um, actually Mom, it really can't. That's part of the reason she wants to talk to you guys. I think you'd better come in here and let's all sit down and talk," Vanessa said, coming to her sister's defense.

"Gina, it's okay. We'll go to Zac's and wait and then we can all meet back for dinner tonight. I think we've got a good start for right now on the party stuff. Something tells me this may be important," Starla spoke up.

Zac handed his mom the keys to his house and leaned over to softly tell her, "Mom, I'm going to hang around here for a bit. I think Stella needs the support. Here are the keys. You guys just go on in, tell Dylan to help himself to any of my games and the fridge is stocked. Van made sure of that yesterday."

"Well, Zac, it's good that you're staying. You're practically a part of this family and Stella's brother, so…"

"We'll see you later, Son," David told him, giving him a manly hug.

Zac then turned to Dylan and, noticing the joking look on his brother's face, gave him a warning look. "Dude, don't even say it."

"Say what?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know but you were going to make some smart ass comment, so just for once, keep it to yourself," he told his brother.

"I wasn't going to say-" he stopped when he caught the other six Efron eyes on him. "Okay, yeah I was," he admitted. "I was going to make some crack about Nessa being pregnant and that's why you need to talk to Greg, but… Yeah, not as comical as I originally thought," Dylan confessed.

"Man, just get out of here," Zac said, pushing his brother out the door with a chuckle. "We'll see you guys in a bit," Zac told his family as they walked out the door. As he closed the door and turned back around to face his future in-laws, he saw that they were all seated in the living room, waiting on him. Greg was sitting in his trademark recliner, Gina on the arm of it beside him. Stella was sitting on the couch, with Vanessa next to her, holding her hand offering her encouragement. Zac sat on the other side of her. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Greg spoke up first.

"Stella, what's going on?"

"Um, well, I um- I-" Stella paused and took a deep breath. "I don't really know where to start."

"Just start at the beginning, Sweetie. It's okay. Whatever it is, your Daddy and I still love you, no matter what," Gina told her.

Feeling Vanessa give her hand a soft squeeze, she continued.

"Um, well, I've kind of been acting out a bit lately. Out of jealousy."

"Define acting out," Greg asked.

"Um, do you remember when I was late getting home from school last week?"

"You mean the day you were working on your English paper?" Gina asked.

"I wasn't working on my paper," Stella confessed quietly, looking down at her lap.

"What were you doing?" Greg asked.

"I was in detention."

"Stella, you never get detention!" Gina exclaimed, shocked. "Doesn't the school send home a form that needs to be signed?"

"What happened to the form, Stella?" Greg spoke up again.

"It's in my room," she told her parents. "But there's more."

"Go on," Gina said.

After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves once again, she continued. "I took something from Nessa's house a few weeks ago. Something that I never would have taken, but I did. I never did anything with it. I just kept it in the back of my closet."

"What did you take?" Gina asked her. Stella stood up and walked across the room to where Vanessa's purse was sitting. Reaching in, she pulled out the bottle that had been hidden in it and walked back to where her parents were sitting, handing the bottle to her mom. Gina looked at the label, took in a deep breath, and handed it to Greg for him to see. He put the bottle on the floor next to his chair before speaking again. Noticing the emotionless look on her father's face, Stella took a shaky breath before continuing.

"Daddy?" she asked with a trembling voice. When he turned his eyes to look at his youngest, she saw the anger that he was struggling to hold inside. "Daddy, say something, please?"

"Who's is this?" he asked Stella, while struggling to keep his voice calm.

"Zac's," she answered her dad while getting settled back on the couch. "I took it the night we were all over at Nessa's for that movie night a few weeks ago."

"Do you have more to tell us, or are you ready to explain why you've done these things?" he continued.

"There's one more thing to tell you about before I tell you why," she said, as she felt the lump get bigger in her throat. "I'm scared to tell you about this one."

"Stella," Vanessa began.

"I know, Nessa. Either me or you," she said as her lower lip trembled. "Um, Mom? Daddy? I did something today that will make you disappointed in me."

"Stella, your mom told you a minute ago that we will still love you. Yes, we may be disappointed in you and we'll talk about that in a bit. However, it would serve you well to be truthful right now," Greg told her with a hint of sternness in his voice.

There was another moment of silence, except for Stella's sniffling. She leaned her head on Vanessa's shoulder, her tears soaking her sister's shirt, and relaxed when she felt Vanessa begin running her hand through her hair.

"Stella, do you want me to tell them?" Vanessa whispered in her sister's ear. Feeling Stella give a small nod, she placed a gentle kiss on Stella's head and leaned her over toward Zac, who took her in his arms and began running his hand up and down her back comfortingly as Vanessa began to address her parents.

"Um, Mom, Dad, when Zac and I got here today, we walked in on Stella and a boy-"

"_WHAT_?!" Greg interrupted.

"Dad, let me finish," Vanessa was quick to rush on. "Not like that. They were on the couch and they were only kissing. That's all." It fell silent in the Hudgens' living room once again, as Greg and Gina processed what had just been revealed to them. Hoping to break the tension, Zac spoke up for the first time since they had all been sitting there.

"Hey, on the bright side, at least they were fully clothed and Van and I saw all four hands!"

Three of the other four occupants of the room were fighting off the laughter, but Gina was the first to break, followed by Vanessa, and finally Stella, who had finally managed to somewhat control her sobs. Zac was quick to notice that the only one who had yet to find the humor in his joke was the most intimidating man in his life at the present time. Noticing her dad's quietness, Stella sat up from the comfort of Zac's arms and looked across the room at Greg. Noticing the anger in his eyes that she and Vanessa had become accustomed to in the past years, she looked back at Zac and noticed the- fear? discomfort?- in his own eyes. She made a quick decision to come to his rescue, repaying the favor that he had extended to her in the past.

"Daddy, even though I was in the wrong and broke your rule about no one being allowed in the house when you're not home, and I'm sorry for that, Zac was actually acting on your behalf when he got here."

"Really?" Greg questioned with a sllight edge to his voice. "How so?"

"He's actually the one who kicked Jacob out before you guys got back home."

Zac, Vanessa, and Gina all watched as Greg silently processed this new information. Realizing that Zac was indeed acting as his daughter's protector, he finally stood up and crossed the room to the couch where Zac was sitting with Vanessa and Stella. Zac stood up and met him halfway, taking Greg's outstretched hand in his own. The two men shared a firm handshake, before speaking up again.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," Greg said. "Thank you, Zac."

"Greg, you know I love both your daughters and would do anything to look out for and protect them."

"I know. Now, I assume you two were here for support?" Greg asked Zac and Vanessa. Upon getting an affirmative answer, he continued. "Well, I thank you for being here. I know it made it easier for Stella knowing you were here for her. But now it's time for you two to go on to Zac's and meet up with his family. Gina and I need to talk to Stella and we'll be there ourselves soon."

The couple nodded, gave Stella another hug each, and then crossed to the other side of the room to do the same with Greg and Gina.

"We'll see you in a little bit," Vanessa told them after giving them each a kiss on the cheek.

"Uh, Greg, may I-" Zac started, pointing at the bottle of rum that was still sitting beside his future father-in-law's chair. When Greg leaned down and picked it up for him, Vanessa took it from her father and put it in her purse, giving Zac a look.

"I'll hold on to that until later," she said, taking his hand and pulling him toward the door. "Bye, guys," she called out to her family, shutting the door behind them, leaving her sister to face her fate from their parents on her own. Once they were outside and in the car, Vanessa looked at Zac with admiration written all over her face. Feeling her brown eyes on him, he turned his head to study her.

"What?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"What?"

"What's that look for?" He watched as she reached her hand up and felt as she started to run her fingers through his hair. He allowed his eyes to close momentarily at the mesmerizing feel.

"I think I just fell in love with you more, watching you with Stella and listening to you talking to her."

"Yeah, well, she's a cool kid."

"That she is, but if she ever hears you call her a 'kid', I won't protect you."

He let out a chuckle before continuing. "Van, I meant what I told her. Ever since you've been in my life, and therefore your family, she's been my sister. I love her as if she were my own sister. I'd do anything for her and would do anything to protect her."

"I know you would. And I can't tell you how happy that makes me, knowing you've always fit in with my family the way you do. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said as he leaned in to give her a gentle, loving kiss. She let herself get lost in the feel of his lips on hers, before she allowed herself to break the kiss before it got too sensual there in the driveway of her parents' house.

"We'd better go. I don't want to get grounded for making out in Dad's driveway."

"Yeah, okay. It took a long time to get Greg to like me. I can't lose that now, I'm almost in."

"In?" she questioned, confusion etched on her face.

"In the club. The Hudgens Man Club," he clarified, puffing his chest out in mock arrogance.

"Whatever," she said, laughing. "Just drive, Man Club Member."

With that, Zac put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway, going in the direction of his house where his own family was waiting, leaving the second most important Hudgens in his life to meet her fate with her parents.


	6. Family Moments

_Okay, everyone, this is the final chapter of not only this story, but the whole Proposal Series in general. These 3 stories are all I'm doing surrounding the marriage topic... for now. I know a lot of you have asked for me to keep it going into the wedding plans and the ceremony itself, but I don't want to get too far from the realm of reality. I may jinx it and it'll come down on all of yall because you asked me too! Just kidding. In all seriousness, when we find out that Zac and Vanessa are in fact engaged- notice I said 'when' not 'if' because we all know it will happen one day!- I may in fact continue. But for now... I do have quite a few ideas floating around in my head, so I'm not going away for long! Just long enough to get my next story started._

_Keep in mind that I don't own any of this. _

_**Chapter 6**_

When the couple arrived at Zac's house to join his family, they found Dylan in the living room in front of the Xbox, Starla in the kitchen fixing dinner, and David in the kitchen as well, watching the rest of the baseball game on the television that Zac had mounted under the cabinet. Vanessa immediately joined Starla in the kitchen helping with the dinner preparations while Zac mentally struggled with joining his dad watching the game, or his brother playing the game. While both seemed equally enjoyable, he found himself having a hard time deciding and finally started heading into the living room to join his brother after grabbing a beer out of his refrigerator, only to be stopped by the sweetest voice he had ever heard.

"Zac, why don't you sit in here with us?" Vanessa said.

"Um, okay," he said questioningly. "Why?"

"We need to discuss the guest list. This will give us a chance to do so."

He sat down on the stool next to his dad and opened the beer. David immediately grabbed it out of Zac's hands as he was bringing it up to his mouth and took a sip.

"Hey!" Zac protested.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Son. Would you like a beer?" David asked with a smirk.

"Gee, Dad, thanks for asking. I thought I had one!" he said, as he shoved the back of his dad's head. The two men shared a laugh while the ladies shared a look.

"Wow," Vanessa whispered to her future mother-in-law. "Is it always that easy and how long does it last?"

"What's that?" Starla asked.

"I've always heard that the husband automatically turns into a robot and does as his wife says, but I didn't know it would start so soon or that it would be that easy! How long can I expect this to last?"

"You know I can hear you, right?" Zac spoke up.

"I- uh, I- I don't know what you're talking about, Baby," Vanessa stammered, trying to cover up the discussion she was having with her fiancé's mother.

"So, you're not talking about becoming a stereo typical wife who tells her husband what to do and expects him to do it?"

"Son, you might want to stop while you're ahead," David tried to warn his oldest son before his wife spoke up.

"What do you mean by 'stereo typical wife who tells her husband what to do'? Where did you get that idea, Zachary?" she asked, shooting her husband a look while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I can't imagine, Dear. Zac, where did you get that idea?" David asked.

"From you," Zac said, fully aware that he was potentially getting his dad in trouble with this little game and enjoying every minute of it.

"Um, Babe, I think you might want to stop. You're getting your dad in trouble over there," Vanessa told Zac.

"Oh, no, Sweetie. Zac's not getting his dad in trouble. David's doing that all on his own," Starla told her. The four of them shared a laugh while Vanessa walked around the island to stand next to Zac, who put his arms around her waist, pulling her close. Starla and David mimicked the actions of the young couple, while they witnessed the sweet look and loving kiss Zac and Vanessa shared with each other.

"Kids, I hate to break the moment, but while dinner's in the oven, now would be a good time to get the guest list done," Starla pointed out.

"You're right, of course," Vanessa said with a sigh. "Come on, Babe. Let's go sit outside. It's a beautiful day." Zac stood up as she pulled him to his feet and followed her outside, but not before hearing his dad's remark before the door closed behind them.

"Vanessa, you might need a bigger leash!" David called out. "Ouch! Starla, what was that for?" he asked as his wife playfully hit him on the arm.

Once in the safety of his backyard, Zac sat down in one of the patio chairs and pulled Vanessa down in his lap. As he picked up the pen she brought out to write the list, Vanessa's mind started to wander.

"Hey, Babe?" she asked after tossing names back and forth for almost ten minutes.

"Hhmm?" he said, he put the pen down and turned his attention to look into her brown eyes.

"Do you think that what your parents were saying is true?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does it seem to you like I tell you what to do? Do I keep you on a leash, as your dad put it?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I encouraged you to stay in the kitchen when I know you wanted to play Xbox with Dylan and you did. I mentioned that we should come outside and I pulled you up out of your seat, and you came. You didn't do either of those things willingly and I don't want you to feel like I'm telling you what to do and what not."

"Baby, I love you. And believe me, if you're telling me what to do, I'll let you know. I won't let our marriage get to that point and I hope you never feel like I'm controlling you, either. What Mom and Dad were saying in there, they were just teasing. I've watched them for many years, and I've watched your parents for the past few years as well, and in neither of those marriages, are either party controlling the other. It's a partnership, both ways, just like ours will be."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"I love you, too," she told him, as she leaned in for a brief kiss. When they broke apart, she took a deep breath and gestured to the list. "Okay, now the list. Let's get it done before Mom, Dad, and Stella get here. I'm anxious to find out how all that's going with her."

The two of them finished the guest list within fifteen minutes and went back inside, to find that the other three Hudgens has arrived. When Stella spotted Zac and Vanessa, she immediately walked across the room and grabbed hold of Vanessa's left arm, pulling her back out the back door.

"Stella, can I keep my arm at least until the wedding?" Vanessa asked. "I'd like to have a place to put my ring!"

"Sorry," Stella said when the sisters were out of earshot of the adults.

"So? What happened?" Vanessa asked as she took a seat in the same chair that she and Zac had just been sitting in moments earlier and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Well," Stella began, "Mom and Dad sent me out of the room for a few minutes while they discussed what my punishment would be."

"Oooh!" Vanessa exclaimed. "I hate when they do that. It never turns out good."

"When did you discover that? You were always the good one."

"Is that what you think?" When Stella nodded wordlessly, Vanessa continued. "Yeah, well, uh-huh. We'll discuss that later, dear sister. Keep going."

"Oh-kay. Well, anyway, when they called me back in, Dad said that since I had lied, stolen- sort of-, and had a boy in the house, that I would definitely be punished. But then he also said it wouldn't be as bad of a punishment as it would have been had I not been honest with them."

"Yeah, that sounds like Dad. He's a big softie when you're honest. How'd it turn out?"

"I'm grounded," Stella told her sister with a slight pout.

"For how long?" Vanessa asked.

"Two weeks. It would have been a month, but I think Mom reminded him that I was honest and that helped."

"Yeah, Mom always has been the voice of reason. So, grounded for two weeks, huh? What does that entail?"

"No twitter, facebook, or phone without them monitoring and no computer. Dad's taking the computer out of my room when we get home. I can't go anywhere unless it's with one of them or you and Zac."

"Wow, that's kind of harsh. So the first two weeks of your summer are kind of blown, huh?"

"Yeah, well-"

"Hey, ladies?" Dylan said as he stuck his head out the door to catch the attention of the Hudgens sisters.

"Yeah, Dyl?" Vanessa responded.

"I was asked to come and get you two. Apparently they want to talk to all of us, or something. I don't know."

"What happened, Dylan? Halo 3 got too intense for you? Got to make up a family meeting to use as an excuse to not play anymore?" Vanessa teased her almost younger brother-in-law.

"Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, you're funny, Ness. Actually it was your parents who asked me to come and get you. Zac ended up kicking my ass in Halo anyway, so here I am."

"Family meeting?" Stella spoke up. "About what?"

"Hell if I know. I'm just the messenger," he told them as he turned to walk back inside.

"Okay, little sister. Let's go see what all this family meeting business is about," Vanessa told Stella, reaching for her hand and pulling her to her feet, as they followed Dylan back in the house.

The two sisters took a seat next to Zac and Dylan on the couch and Vanessa looked around the room. Vanessa couldn't help but notice the imaginary line separating the Hudgens from the Efrons. David and Starla sat on Zac's recliner in the corner of the room while Greg and Gina were sitting on the loveseat that Vanessa talked Zac into buying not too long ago which sat along the opposite wall. Their four children- teenagers and adults alike- were all sitting on the couch with Stella and Dylan on the outside and Zac and Vanessa in between their siblings. She couldn't help but think towards the future and imagine what the joining of these two families would be like with grandchildren playing on their grandfathers' knees and their grandmothers rocking them in their laps while they slept. Zac reached out to take Vanessa's hand, causing a smile to slowly form on her lips while she pictured the future of the two families.

Her attention was brought back to the present, however, when she heard her father's voice.

"Guys, Gina and I had something brought to our attention today and we wanted to talk to all four of you to see how you all felt about it as well. Well, Dylan, I guess more you than Zac and Vanessa, but we felt like we all should be here."

"What are you talking about, Greg?" Dylan asked, curiously.

"Dylan, Stella pointed out to us that she had been feeling neglected since Zac and Vanessa got engaged," Gina mentioned.

"Son, your mom and I wanted to talk and find out how you were feeling," David spoke up.

"Dude, you left out?" Zac asked, turning to look at his younger brother.

"Nope," Dylan answered. "Are we done?" He made a move to stand but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked back at Zac as he pulled Dylan back down on the couch. "I'm taking that to mean no?"

"I think that'd be a smart assumption," Zac told him. "I mean, look at Mom and Dad. They have that 'serious' look on their faces."

"You mean the same one they have whenever they talk to you and Ness every time you two go on vacation about not coming back pregnant?"

"Dylan, now would be a really good time to stop while you're ahead!" Vanessa spoke up with a deep crimson blush on her cheeks while everyone else in the room chuckled. She felt Zac give her hand a slight squeeze as he let out a smirk.

"In all seriousness, Mom, Dad, what's going on?" Zac asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Well, Dylan, we need to find out exactly what you are feeling. You say you're not feeling neglected, but what is on your mind?" Starla asked.

Dylan sighed as he began to think. After a moment of thinking, he finally was able to answer his mom's question. "Well, I'm not neglected, but I am feeling something," he admitted.

"What's that?" David asked, encouraging his son to elaborate.

"Smothered." Dylan answered his father with ease, not even having to pause to consider. Upon hearing his brother's confession, Zac couldn't hold in his laughter.

"Dude, I feel ya! I know what you mean!"

"What are you talking about, Zac? You feel smothered?" Starla asked in surprise.

"Well, no, not now. But I did."

"When?" she asked.

"Mom, you smothered me to no end when _High School Musical_ first came out. It was hard for me to even talk on the phone without you needing to know all the details. I don't think you let up until I moved to LA and got my own place."

"And Dylan, you feel smothered now?" she asked again to clarify.

"Stella, you feel ignored?" Dylan asked his counterpart.

"Well, yeah. I even acted out a little bit to get noticed, it had gotten so bad. Now because of the things I did, I'm grounded for two weeks."

"But," Gina cut in, "because we talked about how's she's been feeling and Greg and I are now aware of it, we can also pay more attention to her feelings so it won't happen again."

"Well, Mom," Dylan went on, "it's so bad for me that I'm willing to trade with Stella for her two weeks of being grounded with Greg watching my every move. Mom, I love you, but you've gotta let up a bit!"

"How am I smothering you?" she asked with interest.

"Dylan, is she tracking how long you're on the phone?" Zac asked. When Dylan nodded, he continued. "And who you're talking to all the time?" Another nod from Dylan. "And where you're going and how long you'll be there?" Again, Dylan answered in the affirmative. "Does she keep up with how much gas is in your car and ask where you've been when you need gas sooner than she thinks you should need it?"

"Oh, Zachary! I didn't do that!" Starla said in disbelief.

"Mom, you did," Zac told her causing Starla to gasp.

"I did?" When Zac nodded, she went on. "Dylan? Do I do that stuff to you?" The question caused Dylan to look up from the hands that were resting in his lap and meet his mom's eyes across the room. Seeing the look on her younger son's face, the realization set in. "Oh, sweetie. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. I guess I just thought it'd pass."

"It won't pass until you move out, little brother," Zac told him with a pat on Dylan's shoulder, causing the Hudgens sisters to share a smirk.

"Dylan, nothing will change unless you talk to your mother and I. If we're doing anything to make you feel that way, you should have spoken up," David told him.

"I know, Dad. I don't know why I didn't. I guess I just got caught up in all of it. Why do you smother me, Mom? I mean, I get that you didn't realize you were, but deep down, you must have some reason. So why?"

Starla was silent for a moment as she pondered Dylan's question. "I don't know, Sweetie. I guess I did it to Zac because I was afraid of losing him as he was growing up and becoming his own person as everything started taking off for him. Now, I see that letting him go was the best thing for him. I don't have to look out for him anymore. He's got someone else to do that for him now." She paused as she shared a look with Vanessa across the room. When she saw Zac lean over to press a gentle kiss to Vanessa's temple and Vanessa smile at him, she herself smiled before continuing. "I guess I do it with you because you're my baby-"

"Mom!" Dylan interrupted, with a slight whine evident in his voice.

"Sorry. You're not my baby. You're my grown up, almost an adult yourself, younger son. I love you very much and I guess I'm just afraid of losing you."

"Mom, you will lose me… someday. But right now, I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere until I have to move into the dorm in August."

"Even then she'll make sure that it's only physically that you're leaving," Zac joked. "Believe me, she'll make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Well, I guess the one thing that we've all learned here today is that the four of us still have children at home. We all need to remember to either pay more attention or ease up on the attention. It was good that we all had the chance to sit and talk this out," David spoke up on behalf of the other three parents. "Dylan, your mom and I love you and Zac very much and yes, while she does have a tendency to smother all three of us-" he was interrupted by a smack to his arm "-Ouch! Okay, she only smothers you two. Sorry, Dear," he said while rubbing his arm, causing the rest of the group to laugh. "Anyway, as I was saying, we love both of you very much and while Zac is about to embark on a new adventure in his life, you are, too, with college. Your mom is just trying to make the most of the time we've got you still at home with us."

"And Stella, your dad and I didn't mean to push you to the side. I guess we just got too excited about Vanessa and Zac's wedding that we got carried away. But that's all going to change. In fact, I think that next weekend we should all three take a road trip to see Nonnie," Gina said. She looked at Greg for confirmation about going to visit his own mother and he nodded.

"I'll give Mom a call here in a bit and make sure she's free next weekend."

"Hey, that's not fair! I want to go to San Diego!" Vanessa whined.

"Baby V, I think this trip needs to be just the three of us, given the recent events," Greg told her.

"Fine," Vanessa huffed, as she fell back against the couch and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Staring at Stella, she scoffed and said "Lucky dog."

"That's right, I am," Stella told her with a smirk on her face.

Vanessa playfully cut her eyes at her sister while Stella gave her the stare down. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before falling into a fit of giggles.

"You deserve some Mom and Dad time," Vanessa told her sister. "Tell Nonnie hey for me and that Zac and I will come down soon."

"I will."

"So we're all good? Everyone in this room okay with everything?" David asked. When he got seven affirmative answers, he continued. "Okay, then, dinner! Let's eat!" As everyone stood up to leave the room, Zac spoke up to get his brother's attention.

"Wait, Dyl, hold on, man. I've got something," Zac said, causing his brother to stop mid stand and sit back down. Taking a deep breath and wiping his palms on his pants, he continued. "Uh, I was, um, kind of thinking and uh, I've got something I want to ask you."

"Okay, yeah. What's up?" Dylan asked.

"You and I have been through a lot growing up. I mean, we've picked on each other and fought all the time, but yet through it all you've been not only my brother, but my best friend as well. I want you beside me when Van and I are married."

Dylan just sat there and stared at his older brother. Finally, he spoke up. "Huh? I don't get it."

"Dude," Zac said, rolling his eyes at his brother, "I'm saying I want you to be my best man. I mean, I would ask Dad but I have a feeling that Mom would need him sitting there beside her during the ceremony. You know, her crying and all that…"

"Really?" Dylan asked, confused. "What do I have to do?"

"Well, the best man usually has to escort the maid of honor down the aisle, keep up with the rings, sign the marriage license as a witness, give a toast at the reception, make sure the rest of the groomsmen know what the hell they're doing-"

"Okay, first of all, how do you know all this and second, does he do anything fun?"

"Well, I know because Van and I talked about who we wanted as best man and maid of honor and looked up what they have to do, and- best part- you're responsible for the bachelor-"

"-Party!" Dylan exclaimed. "Dude! You're awesome!"

"Dylan, you do realize that the bachelor party is not the most important thing you have to do, right?"

The two Efron brothers looked up at the sound of the new voice coming from the doorway of the living room only to see Vanessa standing with a hand on her hip and Stella standing next to her.

"Well, yeah, but it'll be the best part!" he tried to defend himself.

"Okay, I'll give you that, but there are two rules about this bachelor party," she said as the two girls came further into the room, watching as Dylan rolled his eyes.

"Of course there are. What are they?" he asked Vanessa as she sat down next to Zac.

"First of all, it will not be any later than the weekend prior to the wedding so that he can get as drunk as he wants to and still be sober during the ceremony. Second, he will be on time to the ceremony. And sober. He'll be sober."

Dylan stood up off the couch and crossed to the other side of the room as he considered his brother's request. Coming to a stop in front of Stella, he turned to face his brother and took a deep breath as he said, "Yeah, okay, I'll do it. I'll be your best man."

Zac chuckled as he stood from his position on the couch and began walking across the room. Dylan met him halfway and the two gave each other a brotherly hug, complete with a manly pat on the back.

"Okay, you two, that was a nice brother moment. Now let's not ruin it with the tears, okay?" Stella remarked, causing the other three in the room to laugh.

"Alright, my turn," Vanessa said.

"Your turn for what?" Dylan asked.

"My turn to cause my sister to cry. Stella, I want you to be my maid of honor."

"Really?" Stella asked with a gasp and wide eyes.

"Well, actually, more of a junior maid of honor, since you're still kind of young for everything that's asked of the maid of honor, but it's still kind of the same, if that makes sense."

"Nessa, I'd love to!" Stella exclaimed with a bit too much enthusiasm, causing the others in the room to cover their ears.

"Okay, tone it down just a bit before we all go deaf. Now, the reason I mentioned a junior maid of honor is because of all the stuff you'd have to pay for, like the shower, the bachelorette party, and you can't sign the marriage license because you're underage, but I still want you there as a maid of honor."

"That's cool! Who will I be working with?"

"I think I'm going to ask Ashley to be my other maid of honor," Vanessa told Stella, and then scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as a thought occurred to her. "Actually, I guess she'll be _matron _of honor, wouldn't she, since she's married now? Anyway, I think I'm going to ask her tomorrow when we're at lunch."

"So wait, if I'm supposed to escort the maid of honor down the aisle, who am I escorting?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know, but we have awhile to figure all that out," Vanessa told him.

"So no date yet?" Stella asked.

"No, not yet. I think we're going to wait until after the party to start with the actual plans. One thing at a time, right?" Zac said, giving Vanessa a look.

"Right," she said with determination in her voice. "Our moms are going out of their way to plan this amazing bash and we're going to enjoy it! And then we'll give in to the stress of wedding planning. Oh, and Stella, don't forget..."

"I know. No twitter announcement until you two are ready. Got it."

"Guys, dinner's ready! Come on," Gina's voice called out to them from the kitchen.

Dylan and Stella left the room to join their parents, while Zac looked down at Vanessa.

"Hey," he said, causing her to look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"I love you," he told her. As Vanessa looked up at Zac and blue eyes met brown, she could see their future and all that comes with it hidden within. Their wedding, their honeymoon, the next movie offers that come their way, their future kids… It was all there in the eyes of the man that she loved. The man that she had promised her forever to and who was willing to share it with her.

"I love you, too," she told him as he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. She returned the kiss as she reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair. He reluctantly pulled away and joined their hands together.

"We'd better go join our families," he said leading her in the direction of the kitchen. As they walked in the room, they were greeted with the sight of their dads talking sports, their moms talking about the party, and their siblings teasing each other. Taking in the scene before her, Vanessa was grateful at how well their families meshed together as one, since they would be spending many holidays and many family gatherings together for many, many years to come. As a smile gently tugged at her lips at the thought, she pulled herself closer to Zac and he wrapped his arms around her petite waist and hugged her tight, placing a soft kiss to the top of her head. As he noticed the look on her face, he knew exactly what she was thinking, for he was thinking the same thing. Leaning down so he could reach her ear, he shared his thoughts.

"Take it all in, Baby. It's going to be like this for a very, very, _very _long time."

"For forever," she told him. "Exactly as it should be." They shared a smile and turned their attention back to the excitement of the rest of the people in the kitchen, enjoying every minute of the family festivities… together.


End file.
